Improvement in ticket-boxes for railroad-cars



w G. C. THOMAS.

Ticket-Boxes for Railroad-Cars.

Patented Nov. 25,1873.

AM. PHOTO-LIIHMRAPII/G In M X (nun/1:3 Muss} UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE G. THOMAS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TICKET-BOXES FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 145,030, dated November 25, 1873; application filed December 7, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. THOMAS, of the city of Brooklyn, State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Ticket- Boxes' for Railroad-Oars, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to ticket-boxes placed on the sides of railroad-cars above the seats, for the reception and display of tickets, so as to prevent frauds on the part of the conductors, as well as to determine the right of a passenger to the occupancy of a seat adjoining the box inwhich his ticket is displayed.

An early example of a box of this class may be found in the patent of D. A. Hopkins, April 18, 1854.

The object of my invention is to insure a proper display of the ticket introduced into the. box by means of an inclined tilt, F, which, when undisturbed, bears with its lower edge against the glassc in front of the box, as shown in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawing, and thus serves to support the ticket in the best position for being observed by the conductor as he passes through the car.

Figure l of the drawing is a side elevation of the interior of the car, showing the position of the ticket-boxes c c c in respect to the seats A and windows B, the front of one of the boxes being represented 011 a larger scale in Fig. 2.

' In front of the box is a pane of glass, 6, through which the interior can be observed, the bottom of the box consisting of a door, hinged at a, and provided with a lock, the key of :which is in possession of the authorized collector of the tickets. The interior of the box is separated into two compartments by a verticaYpartition-one of the compartments for receiving the ticket of one occupant of the seat, and the other for receiving the ticket of the other occupant; and in the top of the box are two openings, which are closed by blocks D D, each block being pivoted to the box at d, so that by,raising the lip fin front of the block the latter will be turned partly around, thereby exposing a recess or chamber, 0, for the reception of the ticket, which, on turning the block to its former position, will fall into the angular space between the glass 0 and the inclined tilt F, above referred to, this tilt being hung to a pin, q, in the box, and so acted on by a spiral or other suitable spring that when undisturbed the tilt occupies the inclined position shown, with its lower edge bearing against the glass. To one end of each block D is hung a trigger, i, confined within a recess in the block by a bar, j, the range of the end of this trigger being such that when the block I is turned in the manner described above it will come in contact with the upper end of the tilt, and move the latter to the position shown by dotted lines, thereby releasing the ticket, which will fall onto the inclined bottom of the box, the tilt recovering its former inclined position the moment it is released from the trigger, which has considerable play in the recess of the block, so that it can perform its duty properly.

The ticket, after falling onto the bottom of the box, can still be observed, as the glass extends downward below the point where the tilt bears against it nearly to the bottom of the box.

I do not desire to claim the recessed and pivoted block D, arranged at the top of the box for the reception and discharge of tickets, as a similar device has been used in connection with letter-boxes; nor do I claim, broadly, the tilt F but I claim as my invention-- The combination, in a ticket-box having a glazed front, of the inclined spring-tilt F, bear mg with its lower edge against the glass, with the recessed and pivoted block D and its trigger i, all as set forth, for the purpose specified.

Witnesses: GEO. O. THOMAS.

ISAAC H. How, THOS. P. How. 

